“When we get our boots down on golf course design, it opens up to every kind of deal we have, the wines, clothing line"

I know what you're asking yourself! Who said that? Was it MacKenzie? Tilly? Dye? Doak? Hanse? Oh wait, only one architect sells wine and clothes! (Which reminds me, Jack, why don't you have your own wine label?).

Thanks to reader Nick for Wing-Gar Cheng of Bloomberg's report that Greg Norman is looking at up to 20 design projects in China.

Chrissy, you better start learning to say Ni hao.

Norman, known as the “Great White Shark” for his aggressive golf style and blond hair, is chasing 20 golf-course design leads in China, said Harley Kruse, an architect at Greg Norman Golf Course Design Co. Each course could attract a fee of more than $1 million, Kruse said in an interview late yesterday.

“When we get our boots down on golf course design, it opens up to every kind of deal we have, the wines, clothing line,” Norman, 54, said in an interview in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. “China is the bright spot.”

Wonderful that he's eyeing the opportunity to grow the game and share his vision of  250 yard carries and misery at a premium.

The company plans to open offices in China in the next five months, and may establish a wine distribution partnership within a year, Kruse said. Norman previously designed courses at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen and Kai Kou Golf Club in Xiamen, where another Norman course is under construction.

“What you have within your corporation is what your brand represents,” Norman said late yesterday. “I’m not trying to get everything. You just have to identify your market and know what you’re going after.”

Just think architects: there will be 20 redesign jobs in just a few years! So Greg's opening up two markets, design and redesign.

"It's a very complex thing, but it's also necessary"

Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post looks at the plans for redoing Congressional's greens and talks to superintendent Mike Giuffre.

"But it comes down to the fact that that grass has performed poorly for us in the summertime the last six or seven years. It hasn't putted like we'd like it to. We need a change."

And so close to the U.S. Open.

"But we think we've taken a C-plus experience and elevated it to an A."

Barker Davis profiles the rebranded and reopened TPC Potomac.

"It was a PGA Tour golf course that was getting C ratings. We just couldn't have that - not in our nation's capital," said PGA Tour Co-CEO Charlie Zink, a Maryland graduate who helped direct the renovation. "This has been a long process with a lot of people, time and resources involved. But we think we've taken a C-plus experience and elevated it to an A."

New type of design classification here:

Though noticeable minor changes were evident on every hole (shifted, smaller greens, sharper bunkering, squared tee boxes, etc.), the following overhauls were noticeable improvements:

The sixth hole - formerly a wretch-reward par 5 begging a lottery-style, long, fading second shot over a creek to a shallow green - has been converted into a superb par 4.

Wretch reward. I guess that describes a hole that is simply unplayable? And here I was thinking that was one of the best holes on the old course!

The Punchbowl Golf guys also filed this review.

"In many ways, the story of Ponkapoag is the story of lost opportunity"

Catching up on a few items lost in last week's Open and starting with this Peter Schworm piece on Ponkapoag still representing a lost opportunity as another Bethpage in the eyes of many. But $35 million to restore? Wow.

In many ways, the story of Ponkapoag is the story of lost opportunity, like a potentially winning putt that lips out on the 18th hole of a major championship. As the people of New York celebrate their rehabilitated course and the lucrative championship it hosts, the people at Ponkapoag, amid a downturn in golf, a suffering economy, and a chronic inferiority complex, are left to wonder what might have been.

RTJ II On What Bethpage Lacks: “Drainage, drainage and drainage.”

John Paul Newport reports that brother to Rees, son of Robert Trent Jones, and architect of the stars Robert Trent Jones II wonders why his brother blew it more wasn't done to help Bethpage drain better in wet conditions. Family!

Medinah Set For Its Traditional Pre-Major Redo, Still Won't Be Any Good When Work Is Finished

There's a Ryder Cup coming, so that must mean it's time for another Medinah redo.

MEDINAH TO SPEND $3 MILLION-PLUS ON PRE-RYDER CUP RENOVATIONS

Chicago-Area Club Bucks National Cutback Trend

MEDINAH, Illinois (June 15, 2009) – At a time when many of the nation’s recession-weary country clubs are cutting back, Medinah Country Club is stepping up with a view toward the 2012 Ryder Cup.

By a margin of more than 4-1, Medinah’s membership voted Saturday (June 13) to spend upwards of $3 million on a multi-faceted renovation that would see the club’s famed No. 3 Course close August 15 and re-open next June.

“What this overwhelming vote means is that we now will be able to bring our crown jewel up to the world class level where we want it to be,” said club president John Potts. “It will be ready for the 2012 Ryder Cup for the whole world to see. The membership is happy.”

Below is a brief outline of each aspect of the renovation project:

Reconstruction of the 11 remaining original soil-based push-up greens on the club’s No. 3 course, site of five major championships and of the 2012 Ryder Cup. These surfaces and the Putting Clock in front of the clubhouse would be replaced by state-of-the-art sand-based greens set to specifications of the U.S. Golf Association. The greens to be replaced are on holes 3, 4, 5, and 6. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14. A select number of these greens also will be re-contoured. The seven other greens on No. 3 were rebuilt to USGA standards during a 2003 course renovation directed by noted golf course architect Rees Jones. Jones also will oversee this phase of improvements.

Re-grassing of all 18 greens and the Putting Clock in front of the clubhouse to bring about all pure bentgrass greens upon reopening in June 2010.

Re-grassing of all 18 fairways and intermediate rough areas to eliminate poa annua and other types of undesirable grasses.

With Course 3 closed for the renovation, the club will undertake a Cart Path and Hardscape improvement program aimed at upgrading the aesthetics and functionality of cart paths, the halfway house complex, and the area surrounding the No. 6 green and No. 7 and 10 tees.

Renovation and expansion of the golf course maintenance facility.

Club leaders determined this was the membership’s last opportunity to undertake the projects prior to the 2012 Ryder Cup. Moreover, the club in is good financial shape, has a full membership, and a waiting list.

The vote is just the latest in a series of improvements made since the arrival of general manager Dan Miles in 2007 and, shortly thereafter, golf course superintendent Curtis Tyrrell, who oversees all three layouts.

The club has built a new 12-acre state-of-the-art short game practice area adjacent to its newly configured and improved driving range. Last fall, Medinah replaced all 88,000 square feet of tan-colored sand in all 74 bunkers on its No. 3 course with white Tour Signature Sand in order to make the bunkers more playable and more aesthetically appealing.

New 7th and 8th Holes At Olympic

Joel Stewart posts a study of Olympic's 8 hole then and now after Bill Love's renovation. I recently stopped in and saw the new holes and I can't say I was enthralled, particularly since the 7th had managed to confound players for so long and looks pretty uninspired now.

"It's a pretty seamless kind of change."

Looks like there was a new type of rally killer in Geoff Ogilvy's sitdown with what remains of the working press.

First, the rally...Geoff talking about the nuances of the Colonial course changes:

GEOFF OGILVY: Yes, it's actually quite nice that they've made some changes that you kind of keep looking at going, did they change that, did they not change that? It's a pretty seemless kind of change. Most of them I think is better, the course is better for it. A few extra bunkers here and there. The tees, a lot of them they look like they've just gone down a couple of feet which gives it a different look and probably makes it play a little longer in some respects because you are down a little bit. They cut the back of some of the greens, the ball is going to run away from a few more greens than it did before. All in all, pretty good changes. I would still like to see a couple of trees in a few places come out of this course. Apart from that, it's one of my favorites courses and probably nearly every guy in the field, if you polled them, it would be in their Top-5. And they haven't done anything to damage that by changing the course. A lot of times they change courses these days, that can happen. So fortunately that probably improved it. It's nice.

Q. Hi, Geoff, I'm doing interactive marketing for the tournament this week running the Twitter for the guys. I have a question from one of the followers. What part of your game is feeling best this week and what part of your game might not be feeling the best that you need to focus on to be successful this week?

The followers taking priority over the writers? Oh I smell an emergency meeting of the GWAA Directors! Wait, the new prez writes for the PGA Tour, maybe not!

Later on, Ogilvy on how the changes will impact play:

GEOFF OGILVY: In some cases for sure. I don't know if the fourth tee went back, but it feels like it's longer than it was. It definitely went down three or four feet. I think which makes it almost feel uphill. But that's always been a hard hole. The third is going to play a little trickier off the tee. It looks exactly the same, but the bunkers are 20 yards further to carry. They are not such an extreme carry, but our line has changed 20 yards from where it was the last 10 years. So getting it into your head you have to aim it 20 yards further right than you have been for the last eight or nine years is hard. You are used to teeing it up right next to the right-hand tee marker and hitting a driver in the normal spot, r the 3-wood in a normal spot. That line is now moved over and that's hard to get into your head. When you change a golf course subtlety like they have here, that we've played so many times. 12 is the same. 12 we've always blown it over the left bunker. Not many guys will be able to get it over there now. So it's hard to get it in your head you have to aim it up the fairway as opposed to aim it over the bunker. So it's more that sort of trickiness. The par-3, 13, I think it might actually be easier than it was before, even though it's 10 or 15 yards longer. 14, it's adjusting to the bunkers that are on the inside of the dogleg, not the outside of the dogleg. You are so used to stepping it up, autopilot, the normal spot, your driving lines are going to change on the 14th hole. It's more awkward changes like that, rather than out and out difficulty.

"They suggested things that looked out of play for me but at this elevation are in play for a really good player."

Tom Kensler profiles the new Renaissance Golf Design work at the former Mira Vista Golf Course, renamed to sound like a drug rehab center CommonGround), but thankfully serving a greater purpose (at least, if you are a golfer).

CommonGround is a 7,198-yard complete redo of the former Mira Vista Golf Course at Lowry. Co-owned by the Colorado Golf Association and Colorado Women's Golf Association, CommonGround was constructed with a budget of $4.8 million. By comparison, Doak recently completed work on $100 million courses in Palm Springs, Calif., and in the Hamptons on Long Island.

I don't even think Fazio can say he has two $100 million jobs!

The Mira Vista redo was a natural because three Renaissance Golf Design staffers grew up in Colorado. They contributed their "local knowledge" to the project. For example, their familiarity with playing golf at elevation convinced Doak that bunkers and other hazards must be placed farther down the fairway.

"For those guys, it was a rare 'home game,' " Doak said. "They suggested things that looked out of play for me but at this elevation are in play for a really good player."

That's not to say that Doak was a newbie to Colorado. Early in his career, in the mid-1980s, Doak worked for Pete and Perry Dye on Riverdale Dunes near Brighton. In 2006, Ballyneal Golf and Hunt Club opened in Holyoke to much fanfare. Meandering through natural sand hills, Ballyneal is ranked No. 8 among Golfweek's top-100 modern (1960-present) golf courses in the U.S.

Apparently at press time the names of Eric Iverson and those other staffers who did the dirty work, were unavailable. Either way, nice work Team Renaissance, sounds like a great addition to Colorado golf.

"Cink To Miss Remainder of Season to Concentrate on Twitter"

Nice Stewart Cink exclusive reported by Bob Smiley.

Speaking of Cink and Twitter, he posted this Monday:

Heading out for CrownePlaza. Looking forward to seeing the changes at Colonial. Some angst when they tinker with the great tracks.about 14 hours ago from Tweetie

I doubt there's much to worry about since Keith Foster, who did such a super job at Southern Hills, also did the Colonial work. The ASGCA website features this short interview with Foster about touching up a beloved classic.

Redesigning No. 17

You gotta love the Photoshop work by the Golfweek gang who took on No. 17 at TPC Sawgrass. I loved them all, but this is a favorite:

"For me, I don't talk golf course architecture. That's not my whole life. I do that for a living and a job."

Matty G sat down with Tom Fazio, one of the game's artists to talk about the state of his business, money, his deep passion for his work, money, buddy trips, money and his buddy Tiger.

How much did it cost to hire you to design a course 15-20 years ago, as opposed to today?

My fee in 1989 was $500,000. And with the golf boom that occurred, fees went to $2 million.

I thought you had to have won a major to clear the $2 million hurdle?

Is it negotiable?

In my case, the number isn't negotiable. What is negotiable are the terms.

Have you ever talked design with Tiger?

No.

Do you foresee that happening?

I would think it would. I don't know. Tiger's going to be moving at some point. He's building a house in Jupiter. I saw Jack Nicklaus last night at dinner. He sat at the table next to me. We live right here in North Palm Beach. I don't get to see Tiger because he lives in Orlando but I would look forward to talking to him. It would be interesting. Everybody has their opinions and everybody sees golf a different way. Seeing it through Tiger's eye would be very different.

Hasn't Tiger said he consulted Tom Fazio before going into the business?

What is your weakness as a designer? What are you working on given the state of the game and technology?

The whole world, where we are right now, the most important issue is the economics of any project and any golf course. Economics are a factor. What can you get built for a reasonable cost. The cost is a major factor on what can be done and how it can be done. The days of being able to do whatever you want to do are not logical and practical anymore.

But it was so great while it lasted! And what a legacy of excessive budgets and designs devoid of repeat playing interest for the sport to look to!

Have you lowered your fees?

I haven't had to do that, but I think that could be in the cards depending on the location and other things. That has happened in every aspect of the game, whether it be a resort or private golf. I think we'll see the price of memberships, in lodging rates, in dues and many other things. That's very realistic of what's going to happen in the future.

Always ahead of the curve.

You say you know Mike Keiser, do you ever ask him why you didn't get a crack at one of the courses at Bandon Dunes?

Because Mike didn't want to have a course he'd have to redo in five years? Sorry, continue...

No. I'd have to go back and ask Mike if he asked me to be involved. I can't even remember. I wasn't working out west when Bandon Dunes was started. I had a reputation that I wouldn't go west of the Mississippi. It wasn't true, but people pick up on that and someone wrote it. My sons are young and the Internet is their life, and they'll see something and they'll call me and say, "Dad, can you believe what someone just wrote about you? That's awful. You can't let them get away with that." And I say, well, it's America and everyone is entitled to say what they want to say.

Hey sons! Dad's always knows best.

That's just the way it is. I have a lot of people tell me, "Gosh, I wish I would've known you work west of the Mississippi." I didn't work west of the Mississippi on multiple projects but I did one at a time. I think that's interesting.

Not really.

OK, last question. Obviously you get along with Jack, but if it's you and Tom Doak, and Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye in a room, do you guys all get along and what would be the topic of conversation?

I don't know. I don't know Tom Doak. I've never spent any time with Tom Doak. I know Pete Dye really well. In fact, when I have my big charity event, I have 50 clubs together every two years and have a two-day golf tournament called the Fazio Cup, and raise money for children's charities. And one year I had it I wanted to have a speaker. And I thought, 'Who would be the perfect guy?' And so I called Pete Dye and he did, and people were blown away. And the first thing Pete Dye says, he stands up, and says, "You SOBs out there, if you would've hired me instead of Tom, I wouldn't have charged you as much as he did." He's a character. And Jack is a good friend. I think we would talk about our kids. That's what I think we would talk about. And I would talk to Pete about that because I know his son. For me, I don't talk golf course architecture. That's not my whole life. I do that for a living and a job. I was sitting in the locker room at Seminole with several great players, a couple of great tour players, and we were talking about the economy.

Here I would have guessed they were talking reverse-Redans.